Is my DP 44 Switch bad?

[gbs]

I have a 622, a 222 (which I own) and and a 322 all distributed from a DP 44 switch in my attic. My wife and I decided to rearrange the funiture in the den to gain better viewing positions for the HD set and in the process I disconneted the the 622 receiver which has the power inserter to the DP 44switch. All the other receivers continued to work properly until about an hour before I reconnected the 622. About an hour before reconnecting the 622 my 222 gave a message that the receiver was going to be shut down because of inactivity. This was while I was watching the Packers and Giants! The message gave me a choice of pressing "select" to avoid the shut-down. I did so and then about 10 minutes later I get the "acquiring satellite signal" message but it never acquired the signal. I re-booted the receeiver but that did not work either.

I then reconnected the 622 with the power inserter and re-booted the 622 reciever but the signal was never acquired. I have run "check switck" several times and after all the tests the message says on one of my receiver inputs or the switch is not properly installed and the switch summary screen detects no satellites. I have run check switch from all the receivers but I have have no signal on any of them.


Would diconnecting the power inserter cause this and why did the other receivers work work without the power inserter connected?

I talked to Dish Tech Support last might and they have sceduled a service call for Friday the 25th. I am willing to buy a new DP44 switch and install myself if thet will solve the problem before Friday. HELP!

 

[volkodav]

is the light on on power converter of the DPP 44 sw? take the connection off on wall plate and make sure you didn't damage the barrel in wall plate. sound like there is no power getting to the switch

 

[gbs]

Thanks for the reply. I will check to see if there is a light on on the power converter of the DPP 44. Is this light on the switch itself and not the power supply of the inserter? The switch is in the attic and the inserter and the pwer supply for it are in my den.

 

[volkodav]

it's a black box attached to the electrical. in a corner you will see a little light

 

[gbs]

Thanks, I will check it when I get home this evening. I talked to a local installer and he said the same-- I probably don't have power to the switch. The "check switch" routine runs 38 tests which I am told indicates that the switch is not recognized (probably because of no power).

 

[SmityWhity]

And you may also want to try...
- Remove the power to all 3 receivers by unplugging each at the electrical outlet.
- Remove electric power to the DPP44 Power Inserter.
- Wait a few minutes.
- Make sure you have the DP Separaters for all 3 receivers correctly connected, i.e., Sat-1 to Sat-1 & Sat-2 to Sat-2.
- Plug the electric power cord for the Power Inserter back in.
- Plug the electric power cord for the 622 back in.
- Hopefully after a few minutes of self-testing the 622 will start working.
- Connect the power to the othe 2 receivers, and hopefully they will start working also.

Hopefully running the DPP44 without the Power Inserter did not damage the receivers (probably not).
But may have damaged the DPP Separaters on each receiver if they could not handle the power being supplied by the receiver needed by the DPP44 and the LNBF.

But more than likely the logic got screwed up from unplugging the power for DPP44, which should be corrected by above steps. However, if you left the DPP44 Power Inserter plugged in along with the coax to the DPP44, and only disconnected the 622, then everything should have still worked. Snow and Ice on the dish? Wind may have moved the dish, or something hit the LNBF arm?

If the above doesn't work, run a Check Switch on the 622 and post the results.

 

[harshness]

Underpowering electronic devices can kill them.

Just because you can get away with something for an indeterminate time doesn't mean that it will continue indefinitely. You can also do damage to the devices that are trying to power the DPP44 as the current draw is rather high.

As suggested above, unplug the power cords of all the receivers and the power inserter. Starting with the power inserter , power everything up again and re-run your check switches. It is likely that the DPP44 is dazed and confused from your application of a tourniquet at the neck.

 

[Cokeswigga]

I also had a problem like this...

My service worked flawlessly for about a year.. then all of a sudden I started loosing signal, and then had a check switch with 38 steps...

turns out I had a bad connector on one of my cables.

A quick replacement of the connector and all was good again.

I guess after "hanging" off the the switch for a year of so.. it started slipping..

maybe the cables that hang down need a little support (or maybe I just messed up on making that one connector)

 

[gbs]

Thanks to all for your help and input (I guess that'a a pun). The power supply had the green light burning so I checked the voltage across the connector that connected the inserter to the wall plate. Voltage measured 0, nada. Replaced the connector with a new compression fitting and changed out the barrel connectors in the wall plate to some new 3 ghz type. I turned on the power inserter and then the 622. Ran "check switch" and found all three satellites and an now enjoying my HD set. Thanks so much for everyone's help. Now to call Dish and cancel the service call for this Friday.

 

[SmityWhity]

I guess after "hanging" off the the switch for a year of so.. it started slipping..

maybe the cables that hang down need a little support (or maybe I just messed up on making that one connector)

The DPP44 requires cables that have the center conducter (stringer) longer than most applications. It probably was just making connection when you had signals.

Glad the OP got his working.:
That said, there are many debates here about the DPP44 working without a Power Inserter, as well as the possible damages; and it looks like his may have worked for awhile but then the 2 receivers quit without the Power Inserter. I use one.